Study: Retail Theft Costs Consumers $423

CAROUSEL - In this photo taken Nov. 26, 2009, customers shop during Old Navy's Thanksgiving sale in San Francisco. Retail sales rose more than expected in November, boosting hopes that the all-important consumer sector will support the fragile recovery. (AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels)

Theft from retail stores worldwide totaled more than $107 billion in 2010 - down about 6 percent worldwide and nearly 7 percent in the U.S.

But companies' lost due to theft - what retailers call "shrink" - still hurts consumers, as companies ramp up security spending and pass along the costs. That built-in markup costs the average U.S. family $423 a year, according to an industry-funded study.

The extra cost due to shrink averaged just $186 across all 42 countries covered by the study.

The study was funded by Checkpoint Systems, a company that profits from helping retailers manage security. The study boasts that increased spending on security has helped reduce retailers' shrink.